Converting FCP for grade by Avid shop

[Joe Hughes]

Hi there,

I won a prize that will allow me to have my latest short color graded by a major post house. Problem is, we shot the film on the Red One and the post house is an Avid shop.

According to the post house if we want to do the most effective grade they would first need to put the film through a lengthy conversion process (because my editor is using FCP and they are a strictly Avid only shop).

Now, unfortunately I don't know a lot about all this (I'm just the director) so I may not be giving you all the information you need.

Anyway, does anyone have any experience with this? Any ideas as to what we could do to get the best possible grade using the post shop? (it's a significant prize and without it I can't afford a grade).

Thanks
Joe

[Craig A. Macon]

I'd suggest you go to http://fxguide.com/fxguidetv.html
and watch episodes 22 & 23.

Some others here may chime in and maybe simplify things but this is a good start.

[Andrew Young]

Hi Joe,

What is your intended output - HD master or a filmout? Your best bet at an Avid shop would probably be to convert the shots in your sequence to 2K DPX image sequences. An Avid DS Nitris can import these and do color correction on them. Alternatively, you can render to DNxHD at 1920x1080. Go over these two options with your post house and see what they're set-up for. In either case, you'll want either Crimson Workflow or Monkey Extract software (search this forum) to get the correct shots rendered out and to generate an EDL that can re-conform your sequence inside an Avid. Good luck!

[Michael.B]

Using a Final Cut Pro edl any conform tool should be able to complete a high resolution conform on an Avid. Sounds like they might be using DS. If they know what they are doing this shouldn't be a problem. Just make sure it's included in the prize package.

[Greg Huson]

Rubber Monkey extract should be able to move you over to Avid- it can create avid media (using redline) from the .r3d files, with only small handles, and an edl that will help reconsruct it inside avid. If the guys that are the 'prize' are unwilling to do this, and you're a student, you can buy yourself (or your editor) and Avid media composer license for next to nothing- I think it's 300 bucks. You don't need a dx box or anything.

DS is very different than Symphony, but you could make a DPX sequence that should load right up into DS.

If the color correction is in Avid Symphony, there's a trick in symphony that allows you to use an edl to cut a single-strand timeline into individual shots. In other words, you could literally play it out of an FCP, capture it to the Avid, and then break it apart for color correction using a traditional edl. Or play it out to tape, and bring it back into the symphony.
http://archives.bengrosser.com/avid/2000-08/msg01746.htm
With this method you loose some of the Symphony's strength - color correcting by reel number, stuff like that, but those features are of limited use in the case of a dramatic story anyway.

[Joe Hughes]

Thanks a lot guys for your replies. I will pass them on to my editor.
Cheers
Joe

[Michael.B]

Just to clarify, they shouldn't be using an Avid tool for final color (hopefully), just to conform the high resolution data. Hopefully they are using better color tool. Of course, you could also conform the R3D in Scratch and color there natively.